


bouncing off the exit signs.

by romulus_adhara



Series: New Heroes (Ocean’s 11 taeten AU) [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Behind the Scenes, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, Heists, I can't call it a prequel or sequel so i guess, M/M, One Shot, johnmark, taeil dropping the sequel hints, taeten - Freeform, true love and all that sweet shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 22:25:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18417107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romulus_adhara/pseuds/romulus_adhara
Summary: “Ten always has everything taken care of, doesn’t he?” He muses slowly with a smile on his lips that reminds Mark of the real Taeyong, the one hiding behind the mask to preserve his sanity. “Did you know there’s exactly one thing he could never predict? The only one to ever manage to surprise him?”Mark knows the answer. It doesn’t make him feel any better. He purses his lips.“You.” He feels so sad. “He could never predict you.”





	bouncing off the exit signs.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a part of the [burning through nights ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14278002)universe, and it won't make much sense if you haven't read that! and there's also spoilers for the first part, so yeah, better to read in order :)

If you come to think of it, it was only logical for them to fall in love.

They grew up together. 

Ten's first memory is of a little boy opposite of him, trying to ask to play with, but being too shy. The kids were never kind to the orphanage children who came to their playground once a week, and Ten never really understood it. He shared his toys with the boy, and they've known each other ever since.

Taeyong was always by his side, and Ten was always there for him. He was the first person to console Ten whenever he thought about his mommy and cried over how daddy always got mad whenever he asked. Ten was the first one to blow over Taeyong's scraped knee, stand up for him when the kids were too cruel, help him treat his bruises, and listen to the stories of how he got them.

Taeyong was the first, and for a very long time the only, person he came out to. He held him close, whispering fiercely that it changes nothing between them, that he can cry all he wants, and that he will protect him from everyone.

They both ended up protecting each other, in the end.

There was only ever one real problem in their teenage years, and that was when Ten looked up from his calculus book, looked at his best friend spread out on the bed and hunched over his biology homework, and realized that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

It didn't really hit him that hard, because it seemed like the feeling was always there, at the back of his mind, waiting to present itself. Ten smiled then. It hurt.

It took Taeyong about a month to catch up, and the funny thing was that he realized he was in love with Ten right in the middle of their English class, and the wish to inform Ten of that was so strong that he dragged Ten out of the classroom and into the bathroom, and asked if he could kiss him. Ten doesn't even remember processing the situation, he just knows that their first kiss will always be associated with the sound of dripping water and the smell of cheap cigarettes someone sneakily smoked ten minutes ago.

Their relationship never seemed to be weird — they just upgraded a level, and that level very pleasantly included stolen kisses, secret smiles, and eventually naked bodies.

They were oh so scared because their town was that typical close-minded dump that kept decaying year after year. He could never hold his boyfriend's hand in public, and he had to make comments about girls now and then to keep off suspicion, and he had to hide the feeling that made him alive.

They got to this point, smoking behind his house with only their pinkies intertwined and hidden behind Ten's windbreaker in case his father was to look out the window. It's almost funny how he didn't mind his son getting in trouble and starting to smoke at fifteen, but would kill him with a shiv if he ever found out he likes boys. 

“I want to kiss you,” Taeyong says, and Ten smiles. It will probably make him feel so good even years after. He certainly hopes so.

“Let's go inside.”

His father's at his usual spot — on the couch before the TV that only ever seems to be playing sport programs. There are usual empty beer cans around him, and he looks so miserable and dirty that Ten wants to scream.

“Dad, Taeyong and I will be in my room, drinking beer and looking at naked chicks.”

It's a testament of how much he despises his father that he doesn't even think twice.

“‘K,” his father says, scratching his mustache. “But you better bring your own, 'cause I ain't sharin' mine.”

“Of course you're not.”

God, how he hates him.

They go to his room, and as soon as the door's closed, Taeyong is in his arms, hiding his face in his neck and clutching his clothes like his life depends on it. Maybe, it does.

“I hate this town so much,” his voice is tiny and muffled, and Ten wraps his hands around him, holding tight. The only person to truly matter. 

“I know, love, I know.”

They've talked about what they will do after school, but it always seemed like a far-away dream, a distant matter. They're graduating next year, and they still don't know what to do. Yet there is a thought on Ten's mind, the one that's been haunting him for the last couple of weeks.

“Let's run away.”

Taeyong looks up, frowning. There are remnants of green in his hair, and he looks beautiful. He always does.

“What?” Ten feels his hands through his shirt, and they're cold. “After school?”

“Now.” They're silent, looking at each other. “It’s crazy.”

“I know, but what have we got to lose?”

It's a sound question because apart from each other there is not a soul they would miss. Taeyong chuckles disbelievingly.

“Where will we go?”

“Anywhere. We'll just get on the first bus out of here.” He goes to his bed, leading Taeyong with him by the hand. They lie down, and he hugs him again. “I have some money stashed away from all the summer jobs. It'll last us for a while.”

Taeyong is silent for a while, and Ten thinks that he will give up on this plan if Tae doesn't agree. It's hell here, but he's ready to burn forever if they're together.

“We're eighteen.” Taeyong's voice is unsure, like he wants to agree, but tries very hard to find the arguments against.

“And we've already been through more than those over-privileged idiots at school,” Ten argues. 

Taeyong's breathing speeds up, and Ten looks down, noticing with distress how glossy his eyes are.

“Baby, hey, what's wrong?” He brushes his cheek with his fingers, but it only makes Taeyong cry more.

“I just imagined how it would be — to be far away from here and only with you. To touch you and kiss you without the fear that someone will beat us up.”

He closes his eyes, letting the moist wet his eyelashes. He looks angelic.

“I know it's insane,” Ten whispers, kissing his eyelids. They're warm from the tears, and Ten wants to protect him from the world. “But I don't care about it all if you're with me.”

“I love you.” It's not the first time, but it still takes his breath away. “And I'm prepared to follow you to the end of the world.”

Ten looks at him, afraid to process the information.

“So, we're doing it?”

Taeyong opens his eyes, and smiles so brightly it lights up Ten's entire world. He only ever needs Taeyong to smile to him, and it will be enough.

“We're doing it.”

//

He leaves a note to his father not to file a missing person's report. He doubts he would care that much, but still, some people will ask, and he can come up with an explanation himself. 

He doesn't expect him to wake up so soon, but as they get into the bus that will drive them to Chicago, he sees his father going through the crowd with his face twisted in rage and Ten's note clutched in his fist. He doesn't get to do anything because the bus starts moving before his father can reach them, but the look in his eyes and the enraged curl of his mouth give Ten some sort of inner peace. He can choke on his fucking beer.

“I didn't know he cared that much.”

Taeyong is watching too, frowning slightly. His hand is gripping the strap of the only bag they took with them, and Ten takes it from him and puts it on the upper shelf. Takes Taeyong's hand and entangles their fingers. Kisses his knuckles, and thinks about their story. 

They are all they've ever known, truly, deeply, to the cores of their souls and twists of their hearts, and it was only logical for them to fall in love and run away. 

And may the future be bright as long as he is holding Taeyong's hand.

// 

The future gets fucked up fast enough because he can see the haunted look in Taeyong’s eyes as they get kicked out of another motel, and so they find the next one out of countless rooms and stay there, huddled together under the covers because the winter is a bitch and getting charged for extra heating isn’t something they can handle. 

It’s dark and smells like rat poison, but he feels better than he ever did at his father’s house. Taeyong is wrapped around him, his cold lips pressed to Ten’s neck, and he strokes his hair, humming softly. 

He’s so tired it’s hard to keep his eyes open, but he forces through it. They need to talk.

“I miss you,” he confesses softly, and Taeyong looks up at him sleepily. “We barely see each other.”

“I miss you too, baby,” Taeyong murmurs with a sigh. “But we need to work if we want to be able to afford a normal apartment.”

Ten knows it, and he’s usually the one to remind them of the plan, but he still pouts, hugging Taeyong closer. He sighs. 

“We should find something together,” he proposes and bites his lower lip. “So we can at least see each other during work. And you know, I always think about how nice it would be to fall asleep on your shoulder when I’m coming home from work.”

Taeyong chuckles with a wide smile, his eyes bright in the dark room. Ten smiles back and kisses him lightly, trying to warm up his lips. 

“You’re a sap,” Taeyong teases, but Ten just hums softly. He knows his weaknesses, and he isn’t ashamed of them. “But it’s a good idea.”

Ten laughs and starts rattling out all the plans and places he’s thought of in the past few days, and Taeyong listens to him and sometimes hums in agreement, and Ten feels a weight lift off his shoulders. They’ll be okay.

//

Turns out, riding home with Taeyong is an amazing fucking thing. Having something to call home is an amazing fucking thing. Having Taeyong is something Ten will always think of as an amazing fucking thing. 

They find some dingy cafe that doesn’t care they want to work the same shifts as long as they agree to take the hours that would be considered a violation by any even barely sane health inspector. Taeyong jumps up and down while Ten is smoking outside, and they smile and yell at each other, because if another plan Ten came up with works — they’ll have enough money to rent a proper apartment, and live happily ever fucking after like they do in movies. 

It’s hard sometimes, it really is, because the hours are long and the customers are shit, and people keep telling stories about the crime in the area, and Taeyong sometimes looks like he’s dead on his feet, and Ten feels exactly the same, but they make it. 

They take the train every day, and Ten curls up at Taeyong’s side, sighing softly. Sometimes, Taeyong is the one napping, and Ten hums an old song under his breath because Tae likes his voice. He sings that he barely has anything, and all he can give Tae is a cheap ring from a dollar-store, and there’s no guarantee it will be easy, but one day, he will give him the most beautiful engagement ring he can find. 

It all goes perfect. Until it doesn’t. 

It’s been almost a year since they ran away, and Ten sees something desperate in Taeyong’s eyes. 

They’re fairly okay, they’re making it — they live in a tiny but cozy apartment, they make just barely enough to keep it, and themselves sustained, and they’re together. Ten always figured it’s enough. 

But Taeyong says he’s tired — and Ten thinks he gets it before he realizes Tae isn’t talking about another night shift. 

He freezes when he hears something cold — for the first time in their lives — in Taeyong’s voice when he proposes to talk. Ten grits his teeth and hates himself because he predicted it. 

He’s Ten, he’s always planning and predicting, and he’s known this conversation was coming since before Taeyong thought of it himself. Taeyong is smart, incredible, brilliant, but he has so much faith in them that the possibility had to claw its way through to enter his mind. 

Ten listens to everything Taeyong has to say intently, feeling like every word is a shard of glass inside his lungs, but he just sucks on a cigarette and takes it all. He swallows when Taeyong finishes, his eyes full of tears, and he tells him about two possible outcomes they have, and that’s what finally makes Taeyong snap. 

“You always have a fucking plan, don’t you?” He seethes, his fingers white from how hard he’s gripping his shoulders. “It’s not another rough situation you need to get us out of, Ten. This is us. Our feelings, and our relationship.”

Ten clenches his jaw and comes close to him, looking into the eyes of a boy he would give the world for.

“I can’t help who I am, Tae,” he whispers. Because he can’t talk out loud — he knows he will start crying, too. “I can’t stop my mind. I plan when I need to get shit done. I plan when it gets hard. And you saying that you don’t think we can work anymore is the hardest fucking shit I’ve ever had to go through.”

Taeyong winces and purses his lips, not looking at him, staring at the wall where the poster they bought two months ago is peeling away from the wallpaper. 

“I just think sometimes...” Taeyong mumbles, his throat constricting. “That you could have had a normal life if it wasn’t for me.”

Ten stares at him, frozen and shocked. What the fuck?

“What life, Tae?” He asks incredulously. “Living with my deadbeat father who wouldn’t even let me mourn Mom? Who chose drinking his life away over raising his son?”

“You would’ve graduated,” Taeyong snaps, finally turning to him. “You’re the smartest person I know, you would've got a scholarship and left that town and built a life for yourself.”

“Without you?” Ten frowns, suddenly unsettled. This isn’t something he could predict, he never thought this would be the thing bothering Taeyong. “Baby.”

He takes a step closer and touches Taeyong’s chin softly. 

“Even if I was born into the richest family and had the choice between having a perfect life and working eighty hours a week and barely getting by but having you by my side...” He kisses Taeyong’s lips fleetingly, his eyes flying close as he wraps his hands around Taeyong’s neck. “I would always choose you.”

Taeyong takes a shaky breath and hugs him back, his nose pressing to Ten’s cheek. He breathes in. 

“You’re my plan,” he murmurs. “Forever.”

“I don’t mind this one,” Taeyong responds with a chuckle. 

“God, for a while there I thought you just fell out of love with me,” Ten confesses with a breathy laugh, and Taeyong hits him lightly on the shoulder. 

“Not for a second.” He kisses Ten’s chin and tugs him to the bed. “I’m stuck with loving you.”

He lies down and brings Ten on top of him, his smile small but so happy it takes Ten’s breath away. He strokes his face and shakes his head.

“Next time, talk to me before I come up with another plan.”

Taeyong laughs and kisses him tightly, and Ten thinks how stupidly lucky he is. 

They’re kids. They’re so young they can’t even get alcohol in respectable establishments, and they have so many shit ahead of them that it’s scary, but it’s okay. He’ll have a plan. He’ll always have Taeyong and a plan. 

// 

Johnny appears like a fucking tornado. Ten isn’t quite sure where the hell he came from or where he’s going, but he knows that he sees a similar soul in him, that same desire to prove himself and achieve heights nobody ever expected him to. 

He grew up in Vegas, his stripper mother raising him to the best of her abilities, and doing quite a good job, and she was perfect — until she died two months ago. Johnny looks sad when he talks about it but he isn’t letting it break him, and Ten respects it. 

Taeyong feels wary towards him at first because Johnny confesses straight away that he’s used to pickpocketing and craving for more, and Ten’s eyes light up at the possibility of concocting a plan that can bring them more money that they can earn in a year in the bar. Taeyong grits his teeth when Ten brings it up once at night, and Ten feels it, wrapping his hands around Taeyong’s waist. Tae stares at the barely-alive plant on their window. 

“I don’t want to rob people who need their money,” he whispers into Taeyong’s neck. “I know damn well how it feels so I would never do it. But baby. All those rich fucks who wouldn’t give two fucks about broke people like us?”

Taeyong turns over, tracing the lines of Ten’s face with his fingers. He’s skinny, too skinny, because they had to buy clothes, which drained their food bank. He hates it. He hates that they even have a food bank. 

“What about them?” He whispers, imagining those people Ten and Johnny keep talking about — swimming in money, disregarding less fortunate, thinking themselves lions in the world of sheep. 

If you ask Taeyong, Ten is more deserving to be called a predator than all of them combined. Ten bites his lip, his eyes feverish. 

“I want them to remember me.”

//

It goes amazing.

Ten comes up with another plan, Taeyong arranges for the cover, and Johnny finds a friend to stand guard while they steal a few items from some reclusive idiot’s collection. It was easy, almost too easy, and he keeps looking over his shoulder for weeks after that, but Ten’s plan was so detailed and flawlessly executed that they never get caught. He can’t believe his luck, and he can’t believe the fact that they manage to sell the items and buy clothes and food without feeling like a bill punches them in the throat.

Ten is ecstatic, happy and loud as they celebrate, and they quit their job, making love on the counter on the last night because they feel like they deserve it, and they move into another apartment, and the money lasts for a month.

Taeyong warms up to Johnny when he realizes he’s not there to fuck them over, and they spend long nights on the balcony, huddled together and discussing their plans for the future.

Because they finally have one that is at least resembling bright. Ten knows Taeyong hopes they won’t have to steal anything anymore, but they both realize that they don’t have any other choice. And now that Ten got a taste of it, he isn’t sure he can ever stop his mind from creating crazy heists and insane escape routes. It’s his thing now.

And maybe, he didn’t stray far away from the insults his father liked to throw at him, but who the fuck cares about that old idiot when Ten has people he loves with him and a permanent job on the horizon.

He feels amazing.

//

Two years pass in a blur of other heists and laughter, their riches growing as they learn to divide the funds with at least some resemblance of wisdom.

They become more famous, too, and before he knows it, Ten is already known to a few art dealers around the town and even beyond the state, and it’s kinda cool, but they still decide to move before the police catch up. You never know when some undercover detective shows up at your door and locks you away for life.

They’re associated with a few capers, but the thing about Ten’s plans is that nobody can ever prove anything. He just calmly smiles into the face of everyone who tries to tie him to another robbery and winks as he walks away. Taeyong is falling in love with him day by day.

They don’t know where to settle yet, so they decide to visit Vegas because Johnny misses home and wants to visit the club he grew up in. It has memories and a plaque for his mom, and Taeyong always wanted to go, so why not, Ten reckons as they load up Johnny’s car.

The two of them are driving the bike — their most prized possession, the baby they put together and polished to be the most beautiful girl on this side of the border.

The wind hits Taeyong’s skin as they drive, but he feels so free he doesn’t care. He’s with Ten, his Ten, and he spreads his hands to pretend like he’s flying, and the future is ahead of them, awaiting and beckoning closer. He screams in delight and hears Ten laugh.

They’re free and in love, and he feels ten feet tall, and they’re driving to Vegas — the city that can bring them so many opportunities it’s hard to imagine all of them.

//

Mark looks scared but hanging on. Taeyong likes him immediately, and it’s only barely justified by the cutest five-year-old ever hanging off Mark’s shoulder. He takes him eagerly into his arms, cooing at the way the kid is looking around him with the wildest eyes.

“You’re Jisung, aren’t you?” He asks in a tiny voice, playing with his small fingers as he nods shyly. “I’m Taeyong.“

“Yong,” Jisung bubbles out, and Tae laughs, instantly in love.

“Whatever you wish, darling.”

Jisung smiles shyly and buries his face in Taeyong’s neck.

“You’re very nice,” he says, and Tae feels him blushing. “You wanna see my truck?”

Taeyong feels the said truck poking his ribs and looks down at it, gasping appropriately to emit a giggle out of Jisung.

He doesn’t have time to cope with the overwhelming affection he feels for the child because he looks up to see six more pairs of wild eyes, all looking at him in silent wonder as he stares back.

Ten is talking to Johnny in the back of the room while Mark is rubbing his lips, looking between Jisung and Taeyong.

“He doesn’t really talk a lot,” Mark explains with teary eyes. “I guess he likes you.”

Taeyong feels his own eyes well up and sniffs, smiling down at Jisung who’s showing off his toy with a beaming face. He brushes the hair out of his eyes and thinks he can give all the kids nice haircuts.

“I like him too,” he murmurs.

Two hours ago, he was staring at Johnny and thinking all the adrenaline finally melted his brain, because the story he told them wasn’t one that sane people usually come up with.

Johnny met Mark on his way out of the club, and they immediately bonded over the fact that one of his youngest brothers, Chenle, threw up on Johnny’s shoes. He doesn’t know exactly how it happened, but here they are, in Mark’s house, still trying to process the story of a teenager raising his seven brothers because his father only adopts children for publicity, never caring what happens to them after they end up in his house. Mark’s still essentially a kid himself, just seventeen, but here he is. Here they all are.

It’s weird, but then again, he still can’t exactly say why they became friends with Johnny.

And Mark is nice. Really nice and really rich.

He knew right away that they’re not coming here to rob him. No, this time, they’re pulling a much more difficult caper.

Taeyong sighs and sits down before the kids, careful not to drop Jisung, and smiles warmly at them. He always liked kids, nevermind growing up in an orphanage full of dickheads. The little ones are usually nice and kind because they still don’t quite grasp the full scope of how much life can fuck them over.

“Hi?” He tries with a smile. The kids are still staring at him, hesitant to approach him. “I’m Taeyong. I like shiny things and comic books. What about you?”

They’re still silent, and he hears Mark sigh, but then one of the boys straightens up, his hands wrapped protectively around one of his brothers.

“We like Mark,” he announces proudly. “And we’ll never let anything hurt him.”

“Yukhei,” Mark says warningly, but Taeyong just shakes his head at him.

“It’s okay.” He turns back to Yukhei. He looks like the bravest one here. “I won’t hurt Mark, don’t worry. We’re here to help him out a little.”

He looks over to Ten and Johnny watching them now, and the look on Johnny’s face when he looks at Mark honestly says it all. Taeyong suppresses a smile. He just hopes it’ll take him less than eleven years to realize his feelings. Taeyong knows how long of a period that can be for noticing that your soulmate is right next to you.

Ten smiles at him reassuringly, and Taeyong smiles back, casting away all doubt he had before meeting them all.

They have a family now, it seems.

//

It’s Jisung’s ninth birthday, and they’re in Barbados. Johnny is casing an art gallery so he’ll join them later, but Mark still looks anxious that he won’t make it here in time for a party.

Ten watches how Taeyong teaches Jisung how to pick a lock with a toolkit he got from Ten and smiles warmly. Mark sighs again, and he turns to him, rolling his eyes.

“He’ll be here, don’t worry,” he drawls, still not annoyed but already slightly pressed by Mark’s jitteriness.

“I just don’t like him doing it alone,” Mark mumbles, his eyes focused on the kids playing in the sand.

They’re on a veranda of the beach house, and the summer wind can even be called pleasant.

“We often do preparation shit alone.” Ten shrugs and purses his lips, deciding if he wants to ask. In the end, his curiosity wins. “What’s going on between you two, anyway?”

Mark snaps his head to look at him, his eyes wide and his face reminding Ten of the owl painting Sicheng has in his room. He arches his eyebrows at Mark, signaling that he shouldn’t even try denying shit. They all have eyes.

Mark frowns and sniffs, turning back to watching the kids, his shoulders slumped.

“It doesn’t matter,” he murmurs. “Anything I might want doesn’t matter. I have priorities.”

Ten looks at the children now surrounding Taeyong to throw sand at him, chuckling bitterly. He knows his shit about priorities, and maybe he truly isn’t in any place to give any advice. He never had anything more important than Taeyong, so he can’t exactly judge Mark’s choices.

Only Johnny is one of his best friends, and his pining is becoming annoying. How long will it take for them to finally get their shit together? It’s been four years. The uncertainty between them is taking its toll on everyone.

“It’s up to you,” he finally says with a sigh. “But the way I see it... Johnny isn’t the one to ever disrespect your choices. He just needs to know about them, maybe.”

Mark huffs but doesn’t respond. He bites his nails and shakes his hand — the nervous habit he picked up from Taeyong.

“How’s your love life, anyway?” He asks, derailing the conversation, and Ten lets it go.

Mostly because he feels the biggest bubble of joy fill his lungs. He touches the little box in his pocket.

“Perfect.” He takes the box out and shows the ring to Mark, making sure to hide it from the view of the people on the beach. “About to be even better.”

Mark gasps softly as he looks over the ring, his hands going up to his cheeks in excitement. Ten laughs at him, but he gets it. He really does.

“When will you ask him?” Mark looks up with his eyes shining as if it’s him who’s about to propose to the love of his life.

Ten hides the box and looks up at Taeyong.

He looks happy, doesn’t he? Surrounded by the kids that he’s helping to raise, laughing so loud they can hear it from here, his sun-kissed skin glistening, his pink hair a soft contrast to his tan. He’s amazing.

“When everyone goes to sleep, probably,” Ten murmurs. “I thought about asking at dinner, but... I want it to be only the two of us.”

Mark nods in understanding and pulls out his phone to check for new messages. There’s nothing, so he sighs and rubs his eyes.

“The ring is beautiful, really,” he says, trying to distract himself again.

“Yeah,” Ten breathes out. It was a bitch picking it out, and Johnny almost strangled him, but he needed it to be perfect, and maybe it took them four hours of shopping, but when Ten looked at the silver band he’s now hiding in his pocket, he knew — this is it. “You know, back when we just started working at that cafe Johnny found us at, I promised that one day, I would buy him the most beautiful things I can find. But he just said that all he needs is me.”

“Cheesy,” Mark comments, and Ten laughs in agreement.

“Yeah, but...” He bites his lip, trying to explain it. “I agree with him. Because honestly? All we have, all the money and the fame — it can all go away one day. Hell, we can’t jump rooftops and climb through vents all our lives. But I know that I don't care if I’m old and jobless but still have him. Because he’s my everything. I can’t do it without him.”

Mark sighs deeply, covering up the fact that he’s tearing up, and Ten rubs his shoulder with a soft smile.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” Mark answers without hesitation. Ten smiles wider and nods to himself. Yeah. This is Mark in all his glory.

“If something happens to me one day,” he starts, swallowing. It tastes bitter to even think about it. “If I get locked away, or I don’t know, die.”

“Ten—”

“No, Mark, let me finish. You never know what can happen, yeah?” He sighs, looking at the way Taeyong is pretending to have fainted to make the kids yell and try to revive him. “He’s going to be a mess. We work perfectly together, but if one part is taken away, the other one will eventually break. And I can’t stand even thinking about him losing who he is.”

Mark grits his teeth but lets him continue.

“So I want you to promise me something, Mark.” He takes a deep breath and turns to his friend. Brother, essentially. “Give him a year, tops. Let him go through his process, bounce back. But if by the end of it he still doesn’t snap out of it — make him. Remind him that he promised me one day to always carry on.”

Mark frowns but doesn’t object.

“Why a year?” He asks gravely.

Ten looks at Tae again, now laughing again, the kids all over him, their voices carrying to the veranda. He smiles.

“Because he needs his space,” he murmurs. “And because he won’t let anyone near him unless he goes through twelve months of being alone.”

//

Taeyong says yes.

It’s not like Ten ever doubted it, but even with his planning skills, he could never truly guess how much Tae’s eyes will glow or how wide his smile will be. Because Taeyong is his soulmate, but he is the only person who can still surprise him.

They get married on the beach, cheesy and tacky, and it’s perfect, and Jisung is the cutest ring-bearer in the history of the world, and Johnny tries to hide the fact he’s crying while Mark is openly wailing.

Ten kisses his now-husband and thinks how no riches of the world can taste as sweet.

//

They drive endlessly, it seems.

The kids are at home, in Sicheng’s care as the oldest, and they’re driving. It’s been some time since they did this.

They used to go on these trips every year, but Mark always worried too much about leaving the kids to their friends, but now he’s calm because it’s one of their own. Besides, the kids deserved the break from the “parents,” because the heist they pulled last month earned them enough money to buy their own mansion.

They drive aimlessly, it seems.

Johnny drums his fingers on the wheel while Taeyong is bubbling about the views as they drive past a desert, and Ten smiles softly as he looks at his profile, illuminated by the sun. He’s perfect.

Mark giggles at something Tae says, and then suddenly they’re all arguing, and Ten just scoffs and takes Taeyong’s side without even realizing what they’re talking about.

There’s something nagging at his mind. Some mistake? Something happened that he missed, some slip-up, and it’s driving him insane because he cannot for the life of him remember what could go wrong. His plans are flawless, always, and it’s not arrogance — it’s years of practice and a track record of absolute success. He bites his lip and looks out the window, trying to snap out of it.

They’re fine. They’ll always be fine.

The rest stop looks dirty, but he isn’t really concerned about hygiene. His phone rang two minutes ago, and now he’s listening to the other person, biting his cigarette. Shit.

He comes inside and looks around for Taeyong when the call is over.

“Baby?”

Taeyong looks up from where he’s browsing the candy shelves, his face innocent and curious. Fuck. He can’t even imagine losing him.

“We need to go to Vegas,” he announces grimly, and Taeyong frowns.

“Is there a job?” He asks curiously, coming closer.

“Nah.” Ten sighs and rubs his face. “Taeil-senior wants to talk to us.”

Taeyong blinks and swallows, taking a deep breath. They all like Moon Senior, but it’s a known fact how much trouble his son can bring.

The last time they crossed paths with Taeil, it ended in heartbreak and a citywide ban. Taeyong rubs his chin.

“Is Jaehyun around?” He asks thoughtfully.

“Not that I know of. But I doubt it’s about him. It’s been what, a year?”

Taeyong sucks in his lips and nods.

“Okay, fine, let’s go to Vegas.” He sighs heavily. “Fuck. I like the old man, but I still feel uneasy.”

Ten rubs his shoulder and gives him a light kiss on the temple. He’ll never stop severely liking the fact he has to stand on his tiptoes to do that. He feels Taeyong’s hands wrap around his waist and looks outside where Mark and Johnny are laughing about something. He purses his lips.

“Let’s not tell them just yet.”

He feels Taeyong chuckle and hum.

“Ten,” he announces pompously. “Always with an ace up his sleeve.”

Isn’t that ironic.

He leans back and strokes Taeyong’s hair.

“You’re the only ace I ever need.”

//

The casino is shining with thousands of lights, filled with sounds of clinking coins, fake-laughing women and sizzling over-priced champagne.

He slides in the seat across some slick-haired businessman and smiles. The man smiles back, showing teeth so white Taeyong wants to flinch. He doesn’t, though, for he isn’t here to be picky. The guy is the perfect match, and Taeyong fixes his hair. He takes a drink from the waiter and pretends to take a sip — only pretends because he can’t drink on the job. Some of the champagne gets on his lips, and he licks it off, looking the guy right in the eyes. His gaze follows the movement of Tae’s tongue. Gotcha.

He sees Ten in the crowd and fights off a smile. No matter the amount of time they’ve been doing this, he still can’t get over the thrill. Ten looks amazing, of course he does, and the only thing brighter than his silver shirt is his smile.

Wow. Taeyong is so whipped it’s honestly embarrassing at this point. He tries not to give away how much he’d prefer Ten’s company over the slimy man’s. Alas, they are working, so he focuses on his target, making a bet and accidentally-on-purpose brushing his hand over the sweaty palm when he reaches for his cigar. Taeyong hates this pretentious shit, would much rather smoke that cheap disgusting smokes they always buy no matter the riches in their pockets, the taste of their first kiss never leaving the memory. He sucks on the cigar nevertheless, placating his mind with the memory of Ten and him riding through Arizona with a song. He can do this. One last job before the vacation.

Ten sits down near the target and sighs overdramatically. Taeyong almost laughs. He will never get used to this.

“It’s boring tonight, don’t you think?” He drawls to nobody in particular, and Taeyong looks up to see Hoseok subtly roll his eyes. He’s not enjoying the fact that they’re casing his customers barely a month after he got the job, but work is work. He’s getting a good cut, anyway.

Taeyong rubs his ring finger, hating the absence of his wedding band. It always soothes him.

“I’m enjoying the evening.” He shrugs, playing his role and winking at their target with a slime smile.

There’s probably no need to flirt with him — he looks taken enough already. Taeyong would be proud of his enamoring skills if he didn’t already have the most perfect man he could ever wish for. He looks at him now, schooling his expression into a distasted one. He can already hear the roleplaying jokes, honestly.

The domestic fantasy takes his attention only for a second, but it’s enough to miss the warning look on Hoseok’s face as he looks at the door. By the time Taeyong notices it and follows his gaze, it’s too late.

He feels all the blood leave his face, his mind freezing as he sees the cops, and he listens through the fog in his ears how they read the Miranda and cuff Ten, tugging at his hands way too harshly.

Taeyong meets his eyes, still glued to his place, and searches for any sign, any indication that this is another plan, some last-minute detail Ten decided to throw in for flavor, but his eyes are just as confused as Taeyong’s.

No. No. It can’t be. No.

He wants to stand up and do something but feels Hoseok’s hand on his shoulder, and Ten is looking at him warningly.

How the fuck can he just sit here while they’re taking him away? What even happened?

He feels panic take over him, and he needs to save him, or run after him, or fucking act already, but Ten just shakes his head as they lead him away, and Taeyong can’t fucking breathe.

“Go to Mark.”

It’s the last thing he hears from his husband before his entire world crumbles down.

//

The trial is supposed to be tomorrow but they bail Ten out to let him spend at least a day home, and home is Mark’s mansion this time.

Taeyong promises himself to be calm and collected, think of a way out, but as soon as he sees Ten step out of Johnny’s car, every cautious thought goes out the window.

Ten catches him quite easily, his hands around Taeyong feeling like the home he will always belong to, and he takes a lungful of breath to sense him again. Ten shushes into his hair, and he realizes he’s about to cry.

“I’m not letting you go back,” he whines into Ten’s neck, still wrapped around him. Ten chuckles and kisses his temple.

“Then they’ll take you, too.”

It feels wrong to look at him and feel relief when Taeyong knows he’ll be leaving again soon, to the place where not everything will be merciful. He strokes his chin and kisses him, trying to feel like he can do it. But he can’t.

“Angel,” Ten whispers into his lips, his fingers gripping Taeyong’s. “We need to talk. We don’t have much time, and I have a very elaborate plan that I need you to memorize to the last detail.”

Taeyong wants to get angry and scream at him, but he knows there’s no point. More than twenty years have taught him that if Ten has a plan, it needs to be heard.

They lock themselves in their bedroom while Mark and Johnny leave to get some food, and Taeyong hates how resigned Ten looks.

“I don’t know where they’ll send me, but it doesn’t matter,” Ten starts, picking at his nails. It’s his habit when his mind is going into overdrive.

“Doesn’t it?” Taeyong frowns. “How will we know how to break you out then?”

Ten looks up at him, something sad on his face, and just stares until it dawns on Taeyong. He leans back, feeling another wave of desperation suffocate him, and shakes his head stubbornly.

“Baby, there’ll be more trouble if I try to escape than if I sit it out,” Ten says in a quiet voice, but Taeyong can’t listen to it, no.

“Sit it out?” He seethes, still breathless. “This is not a caper you’re not participating in, Ten. This is fucking prison.”

Ten scoots closer to him and hugs his face with his palms, making Taeyong meet his eyes. He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to look at him and realize he won’t see him for who the fuck knows how long.

“I’ll be okay,” Ten whispers, a smile finally on his lips, but it doesn’t bring Tae as much joy as he hoped. “I’ll always think about you, and that’s what’s going to help me get through it.”

He knows Ten isn’t just being brave. Ten is a cunning actor but he’s always real with Taeyong, no matter the circumstances they’re in. They work together, as a unit, and Taeyong is the only person in the world that knows Ten’s every secret. He grits his teeth.

“What do you need me to do?” He asks gravely because if Ten doesn’t have a plan for escaping, it’s something else.

Ten sighs and kisses him, long and gentle, making sure that both of them remember the taste of it. Taeyong sighs as they separate, getting ready to handle whatever he’s about to hear.

“I want you to completely forget about me.”

//

Mark doesn’t know what to do.

He’s been through a lot of tough shit in his life, but this is the first time he feels helpless.

Taeyong is gone. Has been for around a year. As soon as they heard the sentence, he stood up and drove away. By the time Mark and Johnny got home, all his things were gone. The only thing remaining was the bike — the same bike Ten and Taeyong treated as their own child.

He stares at the wall, breathing in and out, deeply and slowly, willing his mind to calm down.

“Give him a year, tops,” he whispers to himself, remembering a conversation from years ago.

The time is almost up, but he has no idea where he should even start looking. Nobody in the circle has heard from him. He doesn’t know if he visited Ten because the man himself forbade to even get close to the prison. Rumors are he’s doing okay, getting actual cred for his track record, but Mark has no way of knowing himself.

He closes his eyes tiredly. Fucking hell. It hurts. Just a year ago, he had a family. Now there are only kids and Johnny who hasn’t been the same since Ten got locked up.

There’s a job. Taeil is still rebelling against his father, and Mark heard he’s looking for a team to pull shit with him. He needs a communicator — a perfect role for Johnny, and a coordinator — something Mark can easily provide along with some funding. The company is doing great, better than it ever did when father was alive, and Mark thinks he should be happy. He sighs.

“Mark?”

He looks up to see Jisung in the entrance, his face perplexed.

“Guess who’s back.”

Mark feels his breath hitch.

//

Taeyong doesn’t look like himself.

Sure, the style is still him, and his hair is red again, but his face is cold and detached, wearing the expression Mark has never seen on him.

He’s still wrapping his head around what Tae just told him.

“So you want me to lie to Johnny?” He says hoarsely, watching how Taeyong’s face turns even grimmer. He looks at Mark with something sinister hidden in his eyes.

“You’re a master of that, aren’t you?” He says slowly, and Mark grits his teeth, holding himself back from hitting him. It won’t do either of them any good.

“You got cruel,” he says simply.

Taeyong was always the one who supported him when his feelings for Johnny got away from him and almost made him mess up, and for him now to throw it all in Mark’s face — it hurts.

“I got lonely,” Taeyong shoots back and hands him an envelope. “I’ll see you when I see you, Mark.”

He almost leaves before Mark calls out to him because he knows he’ll hate himself if he doesn’t.

“Ten once asked me not to leave you alone if something happens to him.” He kneads his palms and nods shakily. “Stay.”

Taeyong frowns and chuckles darkly, rubbing his forehead.

“Ten always has everything taken care of, doesn’t he?” He muses slowly with a smile on his lips that reminds Mark of the real Taeyong, the one hiding behind the mask to preserve his sanity. “Did you know there’s exactly one thing he could never predict? The only one to ever manage to surprise him?”

Mark knows the answer. It doesn’t make him feel any better. He purses his lips.

“You.” He feels so sad. “He could never predict you.”

Taeyong smiles again and nods, leaving Mark’s office. He didn’t even want to come to the house and see the kids. Years of raising them and loving them like his own — and he doesn’t even want to say hi.

Mark wonders if it’s a coping mechanism. To alienate himself from everything reminding him of the life that used to be before he can have every part of it back at the same time.

He rubs his eyes and looks at the envelope.

Seems that Lee Enterprise is about to offer an extremely good deal to Moon Inc. Fuck. Next few years are going to be fun.

//

The day Taeil inherits his father’s empire is an irritatingly sunny one. Mark groans from the hospital bed, watching the ceremony on TV.

He feels numb. It’s not even the injuries and the concussion, and not the memories of fists hitting his body, and not the faces of the kids when they saw their big brother motionless and covered in bruises and cast.

It’s Johnny’s face from a week ago. When he said goodbye and left him here, refusing to take Taeil’s offer, choosing to save himself instead of facing the guilt.

Mark wants to blame him. Mark wants to hate him. Mark wants to stop loving him.

But he understands. He does.

A month later, the community is shaken by the news about everyone’s dream couple getting a divorce. Mark knows it’s all a ruse, but he still feels like shit when people ask him what happened and he plays dumb, pretending he doesn’t know more than anyone else.

They believe it. Couple of people saw Taeyong leaving the prison with papers, another one spotted him selling his ring, a few others witnessed him getting drunk at some dingy bar.

Taeil believes it too.

Around three weeks later, Mark walks into his office to consult on some deal, and there he is — in all his glory, propping the window with his shoulder, a cigar dangling from his lips.

Mark raises an eyebrow and waits for Taeil to introduce them.

“I believe you know Taeyong,” Taeil says with a barely held back grin, and Mark licks his lips, nodding shakily. He didn’t realize it’ll be so soon.

“We’ve had our…” He sniffs and looks Tae in the eyes. “History.”

“Ah, but it’s time to make a new one, isn’t it?” Taeil announces with glee, and Mark takes a deep breath not to betray his thoughts.

Because Taeyong looking back at him isn’t the one who came to him three years ago with an envelope. There’s no more coldness in his eyes. No numbness.

Taeyong smiles to him, and Mark thinks — he’s almost back. One thing left to do is bring his husband home.

//

“You know what I appreciate above all?”

Taeyong accepts the offered glass and takes a careful sip, not breaking the eye contact. Taeil smiles.

“Loyalty.”

He almost wants to laugh. What do you even know about loyalty?

Taeyong’s loyalty lies with the man locked up a few states over from here, and every day, he wonders if Taeil is really buying his game. It’s a testament of how bad he knows them — that he would ever believe it.

“And what is loyalty to you, Taeil?” He asks softly, not willing to break the atmosphere of semidarkness.

Taeil sits down across from him, tugging at his collar. He looks tired. If circumstances were different, Taeyong would feel bad for him.

“Family,” Taeil responds simply.

Taeyong arches an eyebrow and tilts his head. Taeil chuckles and purses his lips.

“I know what you’re thinking. My family is dead.”

He swallows and looks down at his glass, suddenly nervous. Should he bring it up? Is it worth the risk?

“Well…” He takes a deep breath. “Family isn’t always blood.”

There’s silence as they look at each other, deciding if they want to talk about it. They have an unspoken agreement, after all — Taeil doesn’t bring up Ten, Taeyong doesn’t bring up Jaehyun.

“It’s not about him,” Taeil says softly, and in this second of the vulnerability in his eyes, Taeyong feels something that he hasn’t felt in years of knowing him.

Sympathy. There’s something so tragic about the curl of Taeil’s lips that he wonders if he’s as heartless as he would like everyone around him to believe. Love, it seems, may enter even the blackest heart.

Ten would call him dramatic right about now, but Ten would also understand. He was there. He’s the reason Taeil is sad now. Or well, he’s the one who helped Jaehyun escape the feelings that would sooner or later destroy everyone involved.

He sighs. Past is the past.

“Then who are you talking about?” He asks softly, lost as trying to guess who else Taeil would consider family. Not Taeyong, surely?

Taeil looks up at him and smiles.

“There’s something about siblings that makes us feel like a completely different person when we’re around them, isn’t there?” He asks cryptically, and Taeyong almost sighs in frustration. Taeil is always like this.

“I wouldn’t know,” he answers, taking a sip. “I’m an orphan.”

Taeil nods slowly and rubs his eyes.

“We should play a hand of poker,” he suggests, derailing the conversation, and Taeyong freezes, realizing that this is the least subtle Taeil’s ever been.

Curious.

He deals the cards.

//

Jisung acts mad for about a minute before breaking down and hugging Taeyong so tightly he feels trouble breathing.

“I’m sorry, kid,” Tae murmurs, holding him firmly and smiling at the rest of them as they slowly circle him, not letting him leave. Not again. “I’m sorry to all of you, guys.”

“You did what had to be done.” Yukhei jerks his shoulder, looking at Taeyong’s neck. He’s a head taller now, and Tae almost cries remembering him just a kid, barely reaching up to his chest.

“Yeah, but still,” he ruffles his hair and smiles. “I didn’t have to be such a jerk about it.”

It was hard. Four years of isolation, running himself into the ground trying to distract his mind from the overpowering void inside his soul, the one he knew he could not fill unless he wanted the plan to fail.

He meets Ten’s eyes where he can see him talking to Johnny and sighs.

The plan that is far from being done, it seems.

“Are you going to leave again?” Chenle asks, hanging off Jisung’s hand, worrying his lip between his teeth.

He looks over their faces, overwhelmed with affection.

Jisung, the one who always thought Tae to be his most trusted “parent,” the one Taeyong taught how to pick locks and dance in a way that enchants whoever he wants to fool.

Yukhei and Jungwoo, always attached by the hip in life and work, turning to him when the other couldn’t understand their elaborate plans because they think in abstract details crafted to perfection and not precise schemes and colorful diagrams like Chenle does. He chuckles at Lele’s green hair, sensing his own influence, and remembering the kid’s wonder when he showed up with a new hair color every month. Tae was the one who bleached his hair for the first time, earning a great scolding from Mark and a bright laugh from the boy himself.

Sicheng, quiet and thoughtful, seemingly on the outskirts of the whole group. Yet you have to truly know them to see that they all gravitate toward the oldest, seeking his guidance and comfort whenever they feel lost. Taeyong and the others might be good parents but the boys still needed someone closer to their age to talk to them about the stuff adults may not understand. Sicheng is the future Johnny, an excellent communicator and architect, and Taeyong can already see him surpassing his mentor in just a few years. Sicheng tilts his head now with a soft smile, and Taeyong swallows, looking away at the two boys who joined the family the last and had the hardest adjustment period.

Jeno took his teething habit into his teenage years, always chewing on pencils and notepads, always earning a glare from Jaemin, who is usually the one using those. They’re Ten’s secret pride, the ones with the most analytical minds and a talent for ruse. Jaemin is a brilliant actor while Jeno can come up with an escape route on the go, proving himself in more than one crisis situation.

They’re not supposed to be perfect conmen, they’re not. They’re supposed to be carefree teenagers with first crushes, their biggest worries being acne and the chem project, yet here they are — just back from a caper, a victory in their backpacks and happy smiles on their faces.

“No, Lele.” He turns back to Chenle with a lump in his throat. “I’m home for good now.”

He looks up at the others as the kids hug him again. Johnny is smiling with his chin on Mark’s shoulder, their bodies fitting each other perfectly, and it makes sense after eleven years. He’s happy for them.

He meets Ten’s eyes, his gaze hard, and he knows they’re both thinking the same thing.

This is it. These people are their home. And they will protect it with everything they have.

//

Taeyong breathes out, watching how Ten fills the tank with gas, smiling softly. It’s all alright now. They’re together, the money is sitting in the bank, and they’re on their way back home to where Mark, Johnny, and the kids are waiting for their estranged family members.

He thinks about Taeil. About loyalty.

Something deep inside of him feels bad about lying to him for so long, but he wouldn’t be able to become his friend if he didn’t understand a simple thing about Taeil. If he knew why Taeyong did everything he did, he would understand.

That’s the thing about Taeil.

He is virtually a good fucking guy.

//

The package finds them outside of Chicago.

Ten stares at the contents of the envelope and chuckles darkly.

“Those fuckers.”

He spits on the ground and lights a cigarette while Taeyong takes the envelope and the package and looks carefully over everything before neatly packing it all back together and putting it into his backpack. He turns to Ten and takes the cigarette from him, taking a drag.

“What do we do now?” He asks, trusting his Ten to have the answers once again.

Ten looks up at him and purses his lips.

Prison’s changed him, but at the same time it didn’t.

He’s still the only person Taeyong knows like the back of his hand, and that’s why he knows what he will say even before Ten speaks the words.

He sniffs.

“Now we wait again.” Ten shrugs and cards his fingers through his hair. “I have a plan.”

Taeyong can’t help but laugh, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in delight.

“Fuck, I missed you saying this,” he confesses at Ten’s confused look. “I missed you.”

Ten smiles and kisses his cheek, his hands squeezing Taeyong’s waist.

“And I missed you,” he says quietly into Taeyong’s shoulder.

Taeyong wraps his hands around Ten and breathes out.

If you come to think of it, it was only logical for them to fall in love.

//

It’s Mark who proposes it.

They still have their honeymoon phase with Johnny, and he wants to get away, have fun, and remember what it means to be young because they all still are. Taeyong doesn’t expect them to invite Ten and him along, yet Johnny snorts when he brings it up.

“It’s our thing, man,” he shrugs, pulling out a cigarette.

It’s spring, and although the sun is shining brightly through the trees, there’s still a light shiver down Taeyong’s spine from the breeze. He looks at Ten. Ten smiles and takes his hand.

“Let’s do it, then.”

It’s hard to leave the bike behind, but they need to follow tradition, so they take their old car. It’s still in Mark’s garage, shiny and cared for even after all these years.

They take a map, but they don’t use it for the first week. Partly because they already know the roads.

Partly — because it’s more fun to just drive pointlessly. They have millions in their accounts, yet cheap burgers on rest stops seem much more delicious. Mark finally understands Ten and Taeyong’s tradition to always rent cheap rooms.

“The first one we ever slept in had a broken bed and three mice. But we were free for the first time in our lives, and it seemed like a palace.”

Johnny smiles softly and squeezes Mark’s hand. He gets it.

“So we always sleep in these when we’re on the road. We’re free.”

They separate for a couple of days at some point, because they drive past Ten and Taeyong’s old town, and they want to visit for some reason but don’t want Mark and Johnny to be associated with that place.

It’s been fourteen years, and Ten’s hands are shaking when they pass the school. It’s the same, everything is fucking the same, and Taeyong hates it with everything he has. They don’t agree on it beforehand, but they still go to Ten’s old house.

It’s empty and abandoned, charred with old fire and time.

“Probably forgot to put out a cigarette,” Taeyong whispers.

“I hope he died in the fire,” Ten responds.

Taeyong doesn’t judge. He hated Ten’s father with the same tenacity Ten did. And he hopes he suffered.

They don’t go inside, because there’s nothing left for them to take. Everything they truly cherished they took with them a long time ago, in a single duffle bag that Taeyong still has in one of their houses. He takes Ten’s hand and leads him away.

They don’t visit the orphanage. Taeyong doesn’t miss it, and he couldn’t care less about what it is now. He contemplates going inside the school, after all, to visit the only teacher he actually liked but decides against it. It’s in the past.

So they drive out of the city.

All in all, it takes them three and a half weeks to get it out of them. They’re ready to go home. Home is a moving term for them, and now it’s Mark’s mansion in LA.

They have one last thing to do.

They visit the beach and stay there for a night.

“I heard Taeil is back in Vegas,” Mark says, his voice thick through the smoke.

“You think he knows?” Johnny asks, his hand around Mark, their bodies close and familiar.

“Probably,” it’s Ten, his eyes closed where he’s laying his head on Taeyong’s lap.

“Why isn’t he coming after us, then?” Taeyong asks, brushing the strand of Ten’s hair out of his eyes. He likes the new black color and length.

Ten sighs and opens his eyes. He looks at the sky, orange and blue, the sun barely peeking out from the horizon.

“He will.”

They’re all silent. It’s bad, and yet Taeyong has a feeling there’s something more. Ten always sees three moves ahead, and he probably already has a plan.

“He will,” Ten repeats. “But something tells me that he won’t come for revenge.”

Johnny frowns and looks down at him. He breathes out.

“Do you know something we don’t?”

Ten looks at him, and Taeyong sees all the years of friendship in that look.

“Oh, Johnny, but I always do, don’t I?”

Taeyong smiles. Leave it to Ten to be always dramatic.

“We’ll deal with it,” he says. “We always do.”

Ten looks up at him and smiles. It’s been years, and he still has that boyish smile Taeyong loves so much.

“Of course we will, angel.”

**Author's Note:**

> hello again!  
> so today is a year since I posted burning through nights. I have a sequel planned, but my brain decided that we can't write it right now, yet I still wanted to do something for btn's birthday, and so here we are!  
> I love my btn boys so much, honestly, and I promise I will write the second part, I just need some time to get my mind out of the writing crisis it's in rn.  
> this one isn't really my proudest moment as a writer, but it's raw and how it is. I hope it still has that feel of the btn universe people liked so much.
> 
> the title is from halsey — drive, because it was the main inspiration.  
> come yell at me on [twitter ](https://twitter.com/romulusadhara)  
> [come yell at me as anon](https://curiouscat.me/romulusadhara)  
> really, please, yell at me, I love interacting with readers.  
> enjoy!


End file.
